With new set, LEGO invites amateur architects to dream big, build small

Denmark's most beloved import, LEGO, releases a new architectural toolkit for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene building block-loving adults that comes complete with a 272-page 'inspirational guidebook.'

While there’s no doubt a great sense of accomplishment that comes along with recreating the iconic works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Jørn Utzon, and Mies van der Rohe in interlocking plastic brick form, nothing quite says underemployment “nimble-fingered dedication” like actualizing your own work of LEGO architecture.

Unlike the rest of the offerings that comprise the ever-expanding LEGO Architecture range — Big Ben, the Space Needle, Rockefeller Center, the Burj Khalifa, etc. along with important works by the aforementioned architects — LEGO Architecture Studio is geared to “help you learn the fundamentals of architectural design in a LEGO context” without spending hours upon hours replicating someone else’s miniaturized interpretation of the Brandenburg Gate on your coffee table. With LEGO Architecture Studio, it’s all up to you.

But LEGO does offer a bit of assistance in the form of a 272-page “inspirational guidebook” that's filled with “tips, techniques, features, and intuitive hands-on exercises endorsed by leading design houses.” The Christopher Turner-edited book itself was written in collaboration with a range of leading international architecture firms including Sou Fujimoto Architects (Tokyo), MAD Architects (Bejing) Tham & Videgård Arkitekter (Stockholm), REX architecture (NYC), Safdie Architects (Boston), and the venerable skyscraper specialists at Chicago-based SOM. (What? No BIG?). And from the reviews that I’ve read, the book is well-worth the $150 sticker price alone.

The toolkit is available directly through LEGO (although it appears to be currently out of stock), Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.

Anyone had the chance to create their own casas, castles, or tabletop monuments with LEGO Architecture Studio yet?